Automotive ash tray and snuffer



March 17, 1970 E. J. KLASSEN 3,500,835

AUTOMOTIVE ASH TRAY AND SNUFFER Filed July 19, 1967 INVENTOR. famzeaJA4441$N United States Patent O US. Cl. 131-235 5 Claims ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE A sliding ash tray for automotive use includes a snuflingbowl having a removable apertured cover and an integral arm arranged tobe attached to a resilient latching arm extending into the tray. The armhas a portion which extends radially outwardly of the bowl and upwardlyto substantially the upper end of the same. The aperture in the cover isflared and has a diameter such that when the lit end of a cigarette isinserted therethrough and into the bowl it will be sanded by theexclusion of oxygen.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally toash receivers for cigarettes and the like, but it is more particularlyconcerned with a device for quickly extinguishing a burning cigarette.

Smoking in automobiles creates problems that arise particularly inconnection with the extinction and disposition of the lighted cigarettesafter smoking. The usual ash receivers or trays in automobiles are notdesigned to do much more than to hold the ashes and the butts, althoughthey usually do provide elemental means for extinguishing a cigarette bygrinding down a lighted end.

It is objectionable for many reasons to drop a lighted cigarette or thecoals from it into an ash receiver containing butt ends. Often times thelighted coals smoulder for quite a while and thus are able to re-ignitethe previously smoked cigarette stubs. Not only does this create anunpleasant odor but the smoke arising from the ash receiver is annoyingand uncomfortable.

For this reason the smoker generally attempts to extinguish the lightedcigarette by grinding the lighted end on the small surface or surfacewith hole or slotted grid such as is frequently provided by automobilemakers in the ash trays for this purpose. Sometimes this act creates ashower of sparks which are carried by air currents in the car topositions where they can land on and burn upholstery, clothing, or otherarticles. Also, sometimes the coals are merely knocked loose from theend of the cigarette, falling down into the ash receiver where theycontinue to smoulder, in which case little advantage is gained byattempting to extinguish the cigarette.

A particular objection to extinguishing a cigarette by this method isthat it generally requires the automobile driver to take his eyes offthe road at least long enough to locate the surface on which thecigarette is to be crushed and sometimes for a longer period of timewhile the process of extinguishing the cigarette is carried on.Generally the smoker desires to be sure that the operation is beingcarried on successfully and without unnecessary movement of thecigarette so that it generally requires at least a second glance towardsthe ash receiver, thus again distracting the driver from the primaryobligation of attending to driving.

Thus it becomes a general object of the present invention to provide adevice for extinguishing a lighted cigarette which is particularlyadaptable to a use in an automobile and which extinguishes a cigarettequickly, com- 7 pletely, without the possibility of creating a shower offlying sparks.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a cigaretteextinguishing device which can be used in connection with existing ashreceivers on automobiles and which can be located quickly and easily bythe driver without requiring the driver to take his eyes away from theroad ahead.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a cigaretteextinguishing device having the above characteristics and advantageswhich is simple in construction and which can be quickly and easilymounted upon the existing ash trays or receivers in automobiles.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The above and other objects of the presentinvention have been achieved in a cigarette snuffer which comprises abowl open at one side, and provided with a perforated cover member whichpreferably has a tubular section open at both ends. This cover member isremovably mounted on the bowl at the open side thereof with one end ofthe tubular section opening into the bowl, the minimum diameter of thetubular section being such as to receive a cigarette with a loosesliding fit but close enough thereby to substantially exclude air fromthe bowl. The volume of the bowl is purposely made small so that thelighted end of the cigarette is fully received within the bowl while thecigarette projects above the tubular member, even though it has beensmoked down to a relatively short stub, and thereby the oxygen withinthe bowl becomes exhausted in about five to ten seconds and will nolonger support combustion of the burning end of the cigarette.

The cover is removably mounted on the bowl and means are provided forlocking it in place by an arrangement of spaced external ramps aroundthe rim of the bowl and a depending annular flange on the coversurrounding the bowl at the rim, said flange having internal arcuatesurfaces which engage the peripheral surfaces of the ramps to lock thecover in place by a Wedging action as the cover is rotated relative tothe bowl.

Although the bowl and cover may be used alone to form a snuffer, in atypical and preferred embodiment of the invention adapted to use inconnection with an ash receiver in an automobile, an arm is provided onthe bowl by which the snuffer can be attached to a resilient arm on theash receiver.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING How the above and other objects of theinvention are attained will be more readily understood by reference tothe following description and to the annexed drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective View of a typical ash receiver for an automobilewith the snulfer of the present invention mounted therein.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary longitudinal vertical median section through thesnuffer and the tip of the resilient arm of the ash receiver upon whichthe snufi'er is mounted, another style of ash receiver being shown indotted lines.

FIG. 3 is a horizontal transverse section through the snulfer bowl andcover on line 33 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary section showing portion of FIG. 3 withthe cover member of the bowl in locked position.

FIG. 5 is a bottom plan view of the snuffer of FIG. 2 including themounting means.

FIG. 6 is a side and top perspective view of an embodiment of theinvention in which the snulfer bowl has no mounting arm.

FIG. 7 is a vertical section through an ash tray adapted 0 to receivethe snuifer of FIG. 6.

3 DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawing,FIG. 1 shows in perspective a typical drawer-type ash receiver which isslidably mounted in some portion of an automobile, for example aninstrument panel. Within the ash receiver 10, the snuffer indicatedgenerally at 12 is mounted on a flat, resilient arm 14 in such aposition that the snuifer is contained entirely within the ash receiverand does not interfere with opening or closing the receiver by slidingor swinging motion, the latter being the motion of some hinged ashreceivers.

Snuffer 12 is shown in greater detail in FIG. 2 in which it will be seenthat it comprises a bowl 15 open at one side at which is mounted cover16 which, as will be explained, partially closes the open side of thebowl. An arm 17 is preferably made integral with the bowl and providesmeans for attaching the snutfer to resilient arm 14 of the ash receiver.

As shown particularly in FIG. 3, the bowl is generally circular incross-section and has an annular rim surrounding the open side. Thebottom of the bowl is preferably rounded, although the shape of thebottom is optional.

Cover 16 has a central opening into which cigarette C can be inserted tobring the lighted end of the cigarette into bowl 15. The central opening19 in the cover is preferably surrounded or formed by a tubular portion18 and has an upwardly and outwardly flared mouth with a progressivelydecreasing diameter as shown. The minimum diameter of the centralopening is such as to receive the cigarette C with a loose sliding fit.For example, the minimum diameter of the opening may be equal to thediameter of the cigarette plus to of an inch. The object is to alloweasy access of the cigarette to the interior of the bowl while at thesame time substantially cutting off circulation of outside air into thebowl when the cigarette is inserted through the cover so that a freshsupply of air cannot enter the bowl, and any clearance accomplishingthis is suitable.

The internal volume of bowl 15 when cover 16 is in place is preferablysuch that the cigarette is extinguished in a short time, say from fiveto ten seconds, because the burning end of the cigarette has by thenexhausted all of the available oxygen within the bowl and consequentlythe cigarette dies out. The presence of the cigarette in the centralopening 19 through cover 16 blocks entrance of fresh air to the bowlinterior so that combustion is no longer supported after the initialoxygen supply is exhausted.

The outwardly flare nature of the central opening is such as to providea guide for the cigarette enabling the driver of the vehicle to locatethe snuffer and place the cigarette in the central opening by the senseof touch alone and without necessarily taking his eyes from the highwayin order to observe the location of opening 19. The location of thecentral opening can be made more fully and easily evident to the driverby providing around the edge of cover 16 a plurality of spaced ribs 20which preferably extend upwardly above the level of the top of thecover, as shown in FIG. 2. The ends of the ribs are rounded and thusprovide a series of easily identified knobs or projections which, whenengaged by the fingers of the driver, enable him to quickly locate thecentral opening and insert the cigarette C thereinto.

Since the driver may not wish to continue to hold the cigarette once itis inserted in the snutfer, the spacing between the bottom of bowl 15and the inner end of the tubular member 18 is such that one end of thecigarette, when smoked down to the usual length, projects above cover 16while the lighted end is fully within the bowl and below tubular portion18. This enables the smoker to leave the cigarette in place while it isbeing extinguished, if he so desires, and insures that the cigarettewill not he accidentally dislodged from the snuffer prior to itsdeliberate removal for dropping it into ash receiver 10.

It will be understood that it is not the intention of the snulfer to actas an ash receiver in replacement of the sliding drawer 10. In normaloperation, the lighted end of the cigarette is quickly extinguished andthe burning pieces of tobacco on the end of the cigarette fuse into amore or less cohesive mass so that they are withdrawn with the stub endof the cigarette. Consequently, only a minor quantity of the ash fallsinto bowl 15 from each cigarette extinguished. The dead cigarettes arethen placed in the receiver 10 which is much larger and is designed toact in a storage capacity.

Means are provided for mounting the snuffer on the ash receiver. It is ausual construction for a sliding receiver 10 to be provided with aresilient arm 14 having a detent 22 which is normally biased to an upperposition in which it engages a fixed portion of the automobile to limitoutward movement of the drawer, that is movement towards the right inFIG. 1. By depressing the end of resilient arm 14, detent 22 is thendisengaged and the drawer can be removed for emptying. The end of arm 14provides a convenient place for mounting the snuffer, as shown.

Arm 17 terminates at its outward end in a recess 23 closed at one sideby web 24. The web has a central opening sized to receive bolt 25. Therecess is hexagonal in outline, as shown in FIG. 5, to receive ahexagonal nut 27 in the recess so that the nut is held by the recesswall against turning. This permits the bolt 25 to be tight ened quicklyfrom above without a tool to hold the nut. Bolt 25 passes through anopening through the end of ash receiver arm 14, such opening beingcommonly provided by the manufacturer.

It will be evident that the snutfer can be used with a wide variety ofsizes and shapes of ash receivers, including those that are hinged toswing downwardly from the dash or instrument panel. Receivers of thistype generally have a very shallow front, as indicated by the dottedoutline 10a in FIG. 2. Because of this, the arm 17 is inclined relativeto bowl 1 5 and the wall around recess 23 has a relatively shortvertical dimension at the maximum distance from the bowl. This avoidscontact with the sharply sloping bottom wall of the ash receiver andmakes the snulfer adaptable to mounting on a receiver of the dash boardtype with a hole in a detent release arm or a rigid ledge with a ledgehole or grid secured to the front or side of the ash tray, or the typethat hinges downward. Also it is adaptable to stationary ash trays withholes in a strap spanning the ash tray or ledge holes or grid at sidesof the ash tray.

Cover 16 and bowl 15 are provided with cooperating elements which serveas means for locking the cover in place. Around the outside of bowl 15near the upper end thereof, are a plurality of outwardly extending ramps30 of which one is shown in FIG. 4. These may have an arcuate outerperipheral surface, as shown, and terminate at one end in a more or lessradial shoulder 30a. Cover 16 has a depending flange 31 on the innerface of which there is a plurality of indentations, each formed by anarcuate surface 32 on the cover flanges and ending at a radial shoulder31a. These indentations are at least equal in number to the number oframps 30 and are so spaced and located that the arcuate surfaces 32cooperate with and engage the outer peripheral surfaces of ramps30. Theradial dimensions of each of the recesses is such that when a ramp 30 isat the large end of the recess as in FIG. 3, cover 16 is free withrespect to bowl 15 and can be lifted 011?. However, when the cover isturned clockwise, viewed from above, the surface 32 being eccentric withrespect to the axis of rotation of the cover and consequently ofdecreasing radius with respect to the ramp, creates a wedging actionbetween the bowl and depending flange 31 which tightens the cover inplace and holds it against accidental removal. By twisting the cover inthe opposite direction, it is returned to a position where shoulders 30aand 31a abut and in which the cover is free and can be removed.

This arrangement permits the cover to be removed so that when ashreceiver is taken out of the automobile and inverted to empty it, anyashes accumulated in bowl are likewise dumped out. Cover 16 is thenreplaced and tightened by twisting clockwise.

It is preferable that ramps 30 are all spaced slightly below the rim ortop edge of the wall of bowl 15. This permits the cover to first begenerally aligned with the rim of the bowl, after which it can be turnedto bringv DESCRIPTION OF VARIATIONAL FORM FIG. 7 illustrates a form ofsnufler 40 which is the same in all respects as the snuffer alreadydescribed, except that arm 17 is omitted and the exterior surface ofbowl 15a is provided with a series of grooves 41 (see FIGS. 6 and 8) sothat the bowl may be held in the fingers more easily without slippingduring removal and/or replacement of cover members 16.

A snutfer of this type is designed to be received in complementary well44 in an ash tray generally indicated at 45. This tray can be used on adesk or table and the snufier located at any point on the tray that maybe desirable. Snuifer 40 is held by gravity in well or socket 44, sincethis is satisfactory under ordinary conditions; however, the inventionis not necessarily limited to this feature.

Cover 16 is held on bowl 15 in the embodiment of FIGS. 6 and 7, in thesame manner as already described; and the cover preferably engages thetray 45 to support the snutfer firmly without rocking in the well.

The preferred material for the snutfer is one of the various heatresistant plastic currently available, polyphenylene oxide being ahighly satisfactory material because of its physical characteristics.This material is highly elastic and, while firm, is not entirely rigid.Conse quently, the thin wall of the depending flange 31 can spring outvery slightly when the cover is tightened against ramps 30, therebyholding the cover firmly in place. Because of the elasticity, the coverresumes its original shape when removed and does not become permanentlydeformed by the springing action.

From the foregoing description, it will be apparent that various changesin the detailed construction and arrangement of the parts of my improvedcigarette snufier may occur to persons skilled in the art withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the present invention.Accordingly, such modifications are considered to come within the scopeof the invention disclosed herein.

I claim:

1. A dry cigarette snuffer, comprising: a bowl open at one side; a coverremovably mounted on the bowl at the open side thereof and having anopening through the cover admitting a cigarette axially into the bowl,the diameter of the opening being such as to receive a cigarette with asliding fit thereby substantially to exclude air from the bowl;

the bowl and cover when assembled defining an airfilled interior spaceof such volume as to snuff out the lighted end of a cigarette therein inabout 5 to 10' seconds from depletion of oxygen; and

an arm integral with the bowl for securing the snuffer to the arm of anautomobile ash tray, said integral arm being connected to the bowlcentrally thereof and extending radially outwardly therefrom andupwardly to substantially the level of the open end of the bowl and saidintegral arm having a hole therein at the end remote from the bowl forreceiving means securing the snufi'er to the ash tray.

2. A cigarette snutfer as claimed in claim -1 in which the opening inthe cover is surrounded by a tubular wall portion of the cover thatextends into the bowl and is spaced from the bottom of the bowl adistance suflicient to admit fully the burning portion of the cigaretteand the length of the tube is such that the cigarette projects above thetubular member.

3. A cigarette snuffer as claimed in claim 1 that also includes meanslocking the cover to the bowl comprising:

a plurality of exterior ramps spaced apart around the bowl adjacent saidopen side;

and an overhanging flange on the cover having a plurality of arcuateinternal surfaces equal in number to said ramps and engaging the rampswith a wedging action upon rotation of the cover relative to the bowl.

4. A cigarette snuifer as claimed in claim 1 in which the bowl andintegral arm are molded from a thermosetting, nonmetallic material.

5. A cigarette snuffer as claimed in claim 4 in which the material ispolyphenylene oxide.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS D. 57,212 3/ 1921 Carter.

D. 141,182 5/1945 Levinger.

D. 147,870 11/1947 Russo.

D. 152,022 12/1948 Revell.

D. 173,595 11/1954 Sulak.

D. 203,641 2/1966 McClure 131-231 X 1,818,125 8/1931 Eve 131-2362,652,944 9/ 1953 Visser 131235 X 2,736,321 2/1956 Lewis 131-2562,748,778 6/ 1956 Olson 131235 2,765,950 10/ 1956 Wheeler.

FOREIGN PATENTS 1,444,405 5/ 1966 France.

JOSEPH S. REICH, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R.

